Hypothetical Question.

I still have a lot of respect for George and don't bear him any ill will as a human being, but man his stance on the originals makes no sense.

More and more from what's out there of George's statements, I think he might feel that if he were to release 'anything' as it once was, would be a cop out to his desire to continually push the medium he's working in.  Every step of the way he's thought about some other technology or technological development to allow him to be more expressive but also cut costs.  He may pass the film preservation he's been a champion of to after his passing.  While he's alive, he's going to push what he can fund.

(yeah this doesn't explain the 2006 set)

Sure, definitely, it would be all good with those 3 simple discs. The prequels and the special ed. get lumped together too much, when they are really very separate things. One was a perfectly reasonable thing to do (make sequels to hit movies, everybody does that) the other is a kooky, unheard-of display of contempt for your own customers/fans.

I would buy it and gladly walk away from SW boards like this and all would be well.  I never hated Lucas like many on the internet, I always just found it weird that this whole rift was even created.  I can go through each movie series where I like and dislike certain sequels, but I don't think I have ever hated the creator or a section of the fanbase because of it. 

I absolutely hate Rocky V, but I don't think I ever cared what other Rocky fans thought of the movie, essentially because when there is a Rocky DVD or BluRay release, I buy the original and thats it.  The same goes with SW, if Lucas released the OOT in this boxset, the argument of Greedo shooting first or Hayden is a force ghost would never cross my mind because I can essentially watch the version I enjoy.

It is amazing its gotten to this in SW-ville, almost bizzare if you ask me.  Plus we now he Lucas's children tweeting and baiting the fans????  I think EVERYONE needs to take a step back.......

It is amazing its gotten to this in SW-ville, almost bizzare if you ask me.  Plus we now he Lucas's children tweeting and baiting the fans????  I think EVERYONE needs to take a step back.......

Links or it didnt happen.

I just want to watch the original movies in HD without any bullshit special added effects. Whats so damn hard about that? Give me that, and I would be perfectly happy. Until then we have this place where great people try and make the best of a shitty situation by painstakingly trying to recreate the experience we should be able to purchase...

kilik64 said:

It is amazing its gotten to this in SW-ville, almost bizzare if you ask me.  Plus we now he Lucas's children tweeting and baiting the fans????  I think EVERYONE needs to take a step back.......

Links or it didnt happen.

It was in the SW on Blu thread.

Forgive? I don't know if I would "forgive" anything. This type of thinking seems foreign to me, like Lucas is some dysfunctional family member that we have to come to terms with. He is an artist and a custodian of national treasures and he gets judged the same way anyone else in his position would be. Did people "forgive" Ted Turner because he released the black and white versions of his colourized films again? I doubt people think about it in those terms, but I'm sure they are greatful he did so. I am also sure they still dislike the fact that he had the nerve to colourize them in the first place.

The OT SE would still represent a butchering of a classic. People have the right, and are right, to complain about the sheer existance of this.

Lucas would have still repressed the OT for well over a decade and impeded a lot of people' enjoyment of their art and culture, as well as sullying the memory of those films. This should not be forgotten, as though it didn't happen.

Lucas has more to attone for his actions rather than "I'm sorry." In fact, restoring the OOT wouldn't even be saying I'm sorry. Lucas would never say or feel such a thing. IMO all it would be was, "here you go, please get off my back now," even if this seems like a cynical perspective of mine.

Would the resentment die down? Of course. But in the larger picture, Lucas cannot undo his actions and change his past. He can lessen how harsh history will judge him, but what is done is done and that fact alone is not worth forgetting. Everyone has to live with the actions they take, even if they redress them later.

I'm not in any mood--I'm just saying this notion of forgiveness is weird. Lucas did what he did, and he will be remembered for it is all I am saying.

Just like when Ted Turner did it, the same thing applied. Does it really matter that he colourized Asphault Jungle when there was VHS in identical quality released the year before? But such things carry meaning. It is the principle more than anything. But unlike Ted Turner, Lucas has actual practical consequence--one can't enjoy the original version in identical quality. If having the original in identical quality was enough to cause the most important filmmakers and motion picture businessmen to bring the issue all the way to Congress, don't you think this merits a preportional amount of seriousness for how far beyond this Lucas has taken things? If it did, Hollywood ought to be rioting. It's a bit of a travesty that things have been relatively quiet until the last few years.

Instead of watching Star Wars on VHS in 1997 and 2000, when they were re-released in wake of the prequel hype, they were watching the SE. Instead of watching pristine DVD versions of the originals, they were watching pristine DVD versions of the SE. Instead of appreciating the originals, they had to listen to Lucas go on about how inferior they were. Instead of watching Spike marathons of the films, they watch Spike marathons of the SE. And instead of watching a nice, high-def restoration of the original trilogy, they will be watching a high-def restoration of the SE. And that just brings us to present day--who knows how many more years, or decades, this will go on for.

I, at 12 years of age, happened to know the original versions intimately because of the year I happened to be born in, as did you. But a kid born in 1993--he will never remember any form of Star Wars other than the version Lucas has presented. There is more at stake than just us lucky few, who now are beginning to amount to a minority in the fanbase.

And for the rest of us, we have our rotting VHS tapes and our 2006 Laserdisc master. This is not good enough. This is not a minor thing. Almost every film ever made in the last fifty years is available in some format, it just depends on how far you are going to go to obtain it. But those that do, they are obsessive, a niche fanbase of hardcore enthusiasts. One shouldn't have to belong to such a demographic as ours in order to enjoy what are among the most important American films ever made.

zombie84 said:

The OT SE would still represent a butchering of a classic. People have the right, and are right, to complain about the sheer existance of this.

If the OOT and OT SE were released on DVD at the same time, I don't see why anyone would be justified in complaining about the SE.

Well, it is too late for it now, but many people would see it as distasteful to tamper so greatly with a classic. Imagine putting digital matte paintings in Citizen Kane to replace the classic-style mattes, or inserting new actors via bluescreen, or filming new scenes and cutting old ones. On the one hand you can ignore it, but on the other hand it's sheer existance could be seen as disrespecting the memory and integrity of the classic original. It's the principle. Some things are untouchable, regardless of who is doing it and what their intentions are. This may seem a bit of an extremist view--and it is--but it is also one that you have to account for. Even Lucas sees things this way to some degree, as he has expressed offense to the mere existance of colourized versions even when the original is released in the same package and in the same quality (i.e 3 Stooges shorts in 2004).

TV's Frink said:

If the OOT and OT SE were released on DVD at the same time, I don't see why anyone would be justified in complaining about the SE.

But aren't the walkie talkies in E.T. still lame and worthy of mockery? Altering art for the sake of crass pandering to kids is always worth bitching about.

Baronlando said:

TV's Frink said:

If the OOT and OT SE were released on DVD at the same time, I don't see why anyone would be justified in complaining about the SE.

But aren't the walkie talkies in E.T. still lame and worthy of mockery? Altering art for the sake of crass pandering to kids is always worth bitching about.

Yes, they are lame, but as long as I have the option to watch the original, I don't care what else is out there.  To me it just doesn't exist.

zombie84 said:

but on the other hand it's sheer existance could be seen as disrespecting the memory and integrity of the classic original. It's the principle. Some things are untouchable, regardless of who is doing it and what their intentions are.

1) I agree that the concept of "forgiveness" is very weird, and self-important. Like, "I, the fan, am very mad, and angry with you, and I shall only give you my forgiveness if you..., so I demand that you ... so I, so WE, will cease to be angr-"... how pompous and self-inflated in that??
Demand the original versions for all the numerous rational and emotional reasons there are for that, and that's all that's needed.

2) That's purism and I think it's absolute nonsense. Generally, most arguments hinging upon conceptions of something being "offensive" or "disrespectful", aren't worth very much.
Tamper all you want with whatever awesome classic you can get your claws on, just don't take away goodies from other people.


PS:
By the way, here's a brilliant post on this sort of topic, from a while ago:
http://www.mxoforums.com/showthread.php?tid=33222&pid=408593#pid408593

Not in response to anyone in particular, just something I've remembered :)